Big Idea:
Students learn the basics of "Modeling with Mathematics" (CCSS.MP.4) as they practice putting their thinking on paper in this beginning of year lesson.

This lesson is a great beginning of year lesson for 1st graders, or a problem solving lesson in Kinder. In this lesson, students practice solving a story problem (KOA1, 1OA1) and representing what they did in pictures and words. This is aligned to MP3, Construct viable arguments, as it prepares students to start to explain their reasoning behind a problem, and it aligned to MP4, Model with mathematics. It is also aligned to the CCSS emphasis on writing across the curriculum.

Review

We have been talking about how we should listen when others are explaining their thinking. Today we are going to look at how we should show our thinking in pictures and words.

Connect

When we are able to draw how we solved something and write about it, we are able to teach others how we solved a problem. It also helps us to go back in our math journals and see how we solved problems before-this helps us with new problems we encounter.

Objective

Your thinking job is: What needs to go into my strategy box to help me show my thinking?

I’ll choose a student’s work from the day before (lesson) that has a drawing of what they did to solve. I will make sure this student will have put numbers and a picture in the strategy box on their problem.

“Let’s look at the way this friend solved their problem. While we are looking, we are going to see what they did to help us understand their thinking.

To help us keep track, I am going to add ideas to our anchor chart. This chart will have our criteria for success, the things you need to do to show all your thinking in a story problem."

Resources (1)

Resources

I am so excited to have found your lessons. We are being asked to let go of our scripted curriculum. We are expected to teach commmon core strategies and concepts for the time being without a publisher's product or traditional text. It has made all of us very nervous! These lessons have eased my mind! Thanks for your hard work!

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Big Idea:
Kindergarteners love to play games. Learning games can help students expand on concepts, learn new things, and build on what they already know. In this lesson, kindergartners use spinners to count and add with a partner. It's a class favorite!